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93 900S, 264k mi. I've been seeing evidence of alternator/charging problems that, fortunately, have remained as "canaries in the coal mine" to date but make me think I need to identify and deal with the underlying cause sooner rather than later and so I once again turn to the braintrust that is SaabNet.
Primary symptom: I'm driving along, listening to the radio, and periodically the radio cuts out. Ordinarily I take that as a sign that the voltage regulator (VR), ground wire (GW), or other wiring associated with the alternator has become degraded, but all seems well on inspection.
Then I began to notice that the stereo cutout could often-- but not always-- be triggered by a brake push, say, when approaching an intersection or curve but sometimes it just happens with no trigger. When I've had VR or GW issues in the past, those were terminal events in that the battery had been drained to the point of no return, but in the present case the stereo recycles after about 3 seconds and comes back on and all is well.
Unless it isn't.
Sometimes the stereo zones-out and then recycles spontaneously with no tap on the brake. Sometimes the ABS light comes on for no good reason; that is a much less frequent fault condition but eventually it, too, goes out and all is well. For the final clue, let me offer that while driving in traffic this evening, I noticed that there was a momentary dimming of my headlights as reflected on cars ahead of me as we approached an intersection, a flutter that coincided with my push on the brake pedal.
The last data points I will offer are that the battery is fresh. There are no starting or running problems and these symptoms have gone on for ~2 weeks. Regrettably I have not checked for voltage at either the battery or alternator terminals, I haven’t had the extra hands to do so over the last couple of weeks this problem has arisen and—absent tracking data—I’m doubtful that my meter would let me know whether or by how much the voltage drops when triggered by extra demands for power since the effect is so fleeting. Finally, I will note that that using the power window switch also causes a momentary flicker in headlight intensity and it occurred to me in drafting this post that the apparently “untriggered” stereo cut-out may, in fact, be due to the radiator fan kicking in, as temps here in Madison are rising as of late.
If anyone has any suggestions for fixes or diagnostics I would be most appreciative.
posted by 68.187.92...
, Thu, 2 May 2013 13:29:26, Mon, 6 May 2013 13:10:27
, Thu, 2 May 2013 13:48:37
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